Parker_Woodruff

Yes, you should be able to keep it stationary across the entire operating range.

You can thank the companies and workers of South Texas, Northwest Texas, North Dakota, and a few other states none of which include states like Colorado for their investments and success in finding and producing new oil production.

Dream plane for sure

Hold on a sec. You are using only 21" manifold pressure if I'm reading your original post correctly. Temp is a bit warmer than standard. I would want to see your charts, but I don't think the speed is too far off for that power setting. IAS is also going to show a few mph slower due to your altitude. What speed would you get wide open throttle or at a nice 75% power? Try Wide open throttle & 2500 RPM and lean to 9gph OR until you're comfortably LOP. What speed does that give you?

The Widgeon is the nicest flying airplane I've ever flown. I got my MES in one at http://h2oflight.com As for me, I'd want a TBM-900 or PC-12

Yep

Yep...you get 10 years newer and a turnkey airplane.

That plane would sell for over $100,000, but not $140,000. If you plan on keeping this plane a long time, your idea isn't bad.

I wouldn't worry about the speed mods and just get a new prop instead (Hartzell 2-blade top prop). If the airframe isn't a corrosion pit, and if you don't mind being pretty much upside down, there's nothing wrong it doing it all at once. Go for it. You get to have the plane exactly how you want it. I also wouldn't get the IO-390. Just go for an IO-360 Factory Overhaul Exchange.

The 160 lb increase applies to certain serial numbers of the Mooney M20J which were made around the time the 252 was in production. Cost for this is less than $1,000, if I remember correctly. The Encore conversion will give you an increase of 230 lbs and $15,000 is closer to the actual cost. I gave the weight increase to my 1990 M20J and did the Encore conversion to my 1987 252. So consider me a reliable source. :)

I like the design, but, like KSMooniac, I would keep the front part of the gray stripe skinny and not take it over the top of the cowl.

Trying to put a number on an airplane these days is quite a challenge. There are so many airplanes of all makes and models that have become neglected over the past 10 years. Just trying to find one you could buy and have a shot at getting to fly it over 100 hours the first year you have it is a massive challenge. There are some M20Ks that are so rough, havent flown more than 30 hours in the past 5 years, and have pencil-whipped annuals for the last 10 years. But they are listed for what Blue Book says (Maybe $60-70K). And they just aren't even worth near those numbers. A premium plane still deserves a premium price, from the logic that the supply of good airplanes is low and the costs to bring up a rough airplane to that quality level will put you almost at the premium price.

Don, You can buy a refurbished iPad mini off Apple's website for a decent discount compared to new.

That's got to be an uncomfortable climb with a 2-blade prop at Max weight in the higher density altitudes of the summer. That said, 3 blades on an M20K spoiled me.

I will second Gary's recommendation for your prepurchase inspection.

Personally, the Aspen will be a big help at the time you decide to sell your plane. It's a great system. I've owned a G-500 and flown about 25 hours behind an Aspen on a couple different twins. Both are great, but I wouldn't do the Garmin unless I had an all Garmin panel. I would go for the Aspen to make selling your plane easier in the future. That said, you're not making a bad decision to overhaul your unit, either.

There is a shop at LNC that Don Maxwell sends them to...don't know the name

Beautiful

On a recent flight from Salt Lake City to Memphis, I was only without ADS-B coverage on my Stratus for about a 5 minute segment at 15,000 feet. I am definitely a fan of ADS-B. I haven't used XM in awhile, but it seemed like the refresh rate was slightly better with ADS-B. I also thought the WX depiction was a little more accurate for what I was actually flying around/through than what XM paints.

Maxwell and LASAR. I always chose Maxwell b/c that's where I sent my plane for work and it also makes geographic sense.

Congrats!

Cool. I'll call you tonight or tomorrow and send you a PM with my contact info

I'll give you an opposite opinion as a fellow Texas resident. I owned an M20K and used it to travel on frequent 200 nm trips in Florida at 10,000-12,000 feet. The turbo offers a faster climb to altitude. It gives you more options for getting around the cloud buildups, a faster climb to cooler temps, and a little more true airspeed. At your 10,000 - 12,000 ft altitudes, expect 165-170 KTAS from an M20K (231, 252, and Encore) I live in your area and would be more than happy to help you in your search and eventual transition training.

The part that irks me is the crazy minimum standards that municipalities shove onto businesses on the field for competing businesses. Other than reasonable requirements for insurance and some safety standards, I see zero reason to kill off competition. After all, it's competiton that makes everyone better

For the GAMI tests, absolutely. That or the big pull to get quickly thru the "red box" and to a fuel flow that will be in that 65% With GAMIs? I would typically run about 11.2 GPH. Post-Encore conversion that's just under 70% power. Pre-conversion, that's about 73%. Ran as high as 12 GPH LOP with cool temps. That's 75% or 78% depending on which TSIO-360